'Aadhavan' Film -- with Surya

Surya. No matter that I find him really handsome, I was a bit annoyed at the way he acted when I almost bumped into him at a hotel recently. He kept those nice-looking eyes of his downcast (bad habit!) and made a great show of standing aside in a long-suffering stance, as he made way for a few of us ladies to pass him. He was obviously avoiding recognition. HMPH to him. Wear a 'mohamoodi' then next time, I say!

Anyway, the next day, I was booked to go for his latest flick 'Aadhavan'. What irritated me right away along with the opening titles, was the photo of Surya with wife Jyothika and daughter that was flashed on the screen. Please. How much sucking up do they want to do? There are superior actors out there who don't do this kind of thing and this is quite silly. By 'they' I think I mean the producer and director. Apparently, Surya is really hot property despite giving run-of-the-mill storied films (with admittedly good music overall) with a LOT of Surya in them. Thankfully, he is eye candy, so the tolerance is more.

But nobody had better find fault with Kamal Haasan any more for alleged obsession with 'the self'. This guy is going all out on himself.

The movie itself is a weird story with not much originality in it. The hero is seen as a bad guy -- a paid assassin who goes about shooting people with unerring accuracy. Major rifle pandi. Then, he gets to shoot some judge and misses. Supposedly upset at that, he manages to find himself a place in the judge's strangely and inexplicably mazhalai pattaalam household through one number crazy cook there (comedian Vadivelu)... and all this just to assassinate the judge.

The story has many needless twists and turns with the judge turning out to be Surya's father (Surya's name is Aadhavan in the film) and the actual story is that Aadhavn actually turned 'approver' for the police after his botched attempt at the judge and that he knowingly missed his target, etc. And all the time they were trying to fool the audience into believing that Surya was trying to kill the judge, he was actually only trying to protect him. Yes, the police WOULD entrust the significant job of protecting a high-profile judge to a criminal turned good guy (even if they knew he was actually the judge's son).

Actually, vaat a stupheed story I sayyy.

So, as a boy, Aadhavan had run away from home after shooting some police guy. Nice kid. Nice track record. And nice 'heroes' being portrayed in films these days!!! I mean, SHOULD they be showing the hero as a bad guy who runs around shooting people? It's not like Naayagan where the boy is pushed into a corner...this kid is from an affluent family and just went astray. Not a good idea, me thinks.

Anyway, Vadivelu was a riot. Had many big laughs and enjoyed his acting. His timing was superb. His fear and chagrin at Aadhavan's 'ways' is hilarious. He has outdone himself in this film. Only problem: there was too much Vadivelu in Aadhavan ...presumably to make up for the lame story?

Nayantara the heroine, is a super example of uppuku-chappaani in this film. Just a side dish that is not even all that tasty really.

Saroja Devi, yesteryear's over-sweet heroine (although I did like her a lot! Argh.) is also present in this film. Somewhat closer to providing comic relief than anything else. The comic relief business in this film is very high I must say again, as I am sure everyone making the film knew it was simply necessary.

Surya. Yes, he acted alright and is looking slim and good and all that, but overall, I do feel he cuts a sorry figure substance-wise. The scenes where he is hanging upside down from some crane and certain miraculous escapes shown, deliver this film stupid and average-masala stuff. Does this actor really want his career graph slipping into say, Vijay's (Ilayathalapathy!) line of films? Not to really insult Vijay or anything, whose films have their own average-entertainment charm, but just to prove a point!!

Surya's performances in Nanda, Pithamagan and even Vaaranam Aayiram put him on a rung far above this sort of idiotic, insulting-the-audience's intelligence type of film. Quite full of himself he is these days...

There were the last minute appearances from the director and producer of the film. Clearly, they wanted to be a piece of the silly pie they created, but it was so lame! They had nothing to say really, and wasted some five minutes more, by acting stupid.

And why should n't they? The film and story were also stupid, right?

Food and more

Being a foodie is just a way of life with me. I love food and that's that.

A peculiar habit that goes with being a foodie in many a case is...eating your food and watching TV, or reading a book, at the same time. Why? I mean, is it not enough to just eat the good stuff? Why should I also want my favourite show to be on Tv during a yummy meal? Is this what they call having the cake and eating it too? (which saying I never liked anyway. I mean, who would want to have a cake but not eat it?That's not asking for too much, right. You 'have' a cake only because you want to eat it!Sheesh.)

Reading books and eating is another thing. Apparently, the more interesting the book, the more amount of food goes in. This is the reason my mother gives me for banning books from the dining table. However, when I am in the phase of controlling my food intake (which is er, a beet rare!), I find that reading a book whilst eating less or controlling intake, is actually quite soothing. A comfort factor really.

Nowadays, health experts go on about gazing at your food and eating it, in the most admiring way possible -- chewing it, tasting it, savouring it, swirling it around and what not! No other distraction they say. Just the food.

Why can't I come to terms with that? If I am a real foodie, shouldn't just the food be enough?

Body Talk

Lokku. Lokku. LOKKU LOKKU.

Why is it that I feel embarrassed when overcome by a coughing fit? People know I cannot help it, right? People know that one coughs only because one has to and tha it is not voluntary. Coughing is, apparently, as explained to me by one-number boring, staid ol' doctor, something to be thankful for -- one of God's miracles. It is a protective mechanism that the body has. Great. But each time I cough, I try to remember this miracle business but all I come up with in my head is: "Oh, no, please make it stop!"

Note: Why I call that particular doctor boring is because he is very slow and deliberate in EVERYthing he does, has neatly combed, well-oiled hair with a side parting, and writes down stuff over, and over again like there is no tomorrow. Actually, tomorrow often arrives by the time he is done writing. Apparently a good doctor, though I can't say I am personally 100%convinced of it. He is soft-spoken but not particularly 'sweet'. Has potential to become a Dolores Umbridge if you ask me. (You will only get this if you read Harry Potter.)

Sneezes. Another catostrophy in social situations. Earlier, I was so careful about sneezing and so conscious about not spraying other people that I would say: Ah!...mmmmMM. No 'A-chooooo' for me. My family is full of big sneezers. They can bring a house down or at the very least, shatter the atmosphere in the room. Finally, when I heard (whether true or not, I can't say I bothered to find out) that supressing a sneeze is bad for health, I have joined the Big Sneezers Club. A-Chooooooo for me too. And what is this 'excuse-me' and 'God bless you' business? Yes, I heard that when you sneeze, your heart stops or something and therefore people say 'bless you' to get the heart going again, but would n't 'excuse me' be relevant for coughs too?

Burps. Apparently disgusting to others, this offers relief for the burper and unfortunately, has the potential to stink. I don't let out too many burps myself, and must admit, don't appreciate them in others try as I might!! Burps are usually followed by a 'sorry'. For what, exactly? Yes, you need to be sorry perhaps, if it stinks, and needless to say, I would demand a 'sorry' in that case, but if this is an involuntary bodily thing, why are we going around apologizing to other creatures who are themselves fully capable of burping right back?

Farts. Aha. Tricky business. Do it quietly and stealthily and you can often get away with it. But others have to pay the price for the awful stink that often accompanies the silent ones. In my crazy family, we would actually sing a particular song for the silent ones! The noisy fart is clearly an ice-breaker.

Oh, and why are farts funny by the way? Is it because it is funny when your backside makes a noise? Is that it? But believe you me, nobody is going to be amused if your backside does anything other than fart!

I have come across many farts (er, not people, but the actual function...er, others' I mean) and have invariably giggled or guffawed. Nowadays, with maturity -- unpopularly known as 'age', I have learned to try to act as if nothing happened. Which I sometimes think, is how it should be.

This no-real-point-to-make post reminds me of a coaster we had many years ago, which was a favourite: "I am a bit of a bullshitter myself, but YOU go ahead. I'm listening."

Well, I really am...

Cheers!